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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26141647">Dolce Vita</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahaanzel/pseuds/Hedgebelle'>Hedgebelle (Ahaanzel)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Honeymoon, Italy, JayDick Summer Exchange, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Set in Rome, Sightseeing, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, no beta we die like men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:48:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,022</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26141647</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahaanzel/pseuds/Hedgebelle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Red Hood put down his guns and Nightwing shelved his escrima sticks, as Jason and Dick stole away for their belated honeymoon in the Eternal City.<br/>JayDick sightseeing Rome. That’s it. That’s the fic.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dick Grayson/Jason Todd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>JayDick Summer Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dolce Vita</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/BehindTheRobinsMask/gifts">BehindTheRobinsMask</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Warning: ready your toothbrushes, fluff of the tooth-rotting kind ahead.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They didn’t sleep in because of jetlag. They slept in because they could.</p><p>A sole activity they had scheduled for that morning was a continental breakfast on the rooftop terrace overlooking the eternal city – but that could be just as well postponed to midday. After all, why should they be in any rush when they were basking in the warm sunlight and each other’s presence, while curtains were swaying gently on the Mediterranean wind? Besides, nobody ever said they couldn’t enjoy strawberry jam on their croissants and smoky taste of tiny espressos for lunch.</p><p>They did rise from between the sheets, eventually. Jason watched with the corner of his eye as Dick put on a light blue shirt, then ran his fingers through his dark hair, his skin that lovely sun-kissed hue. He would blend in with the locals so well; next to him, Jason would look so obviously and obnoxiously a tourist. Dick only laughed, when the sentiment was shared out loud, standing on his tiptoes to smear sunscreen over the scattering of freckles on Jason’s nose. And maybe steal a kiss or two, sweeter than strawberry jam that would soon spill on their fingers.</p><p>Once Jason sipped the last of his coffee, Dick took his hand and led him outside. He guided him through the busy streets of Rome, easily finding his way between ancient ruins, historic churches and decadent palaces. Haly’s Circus had travelled here before – where it hadn't, really – and Dick still fondly remembered the endless afternoons he had spent exploring the city with his parents. Now, he was excited to create new memories here, with Jason.</p><p>So he plied him with roasted chestnuts by the Spanish Steps. Pressed a small coin into his palm by the Trevi fountain, whispering <em>so we’ll come to Rome again</em> before he threw in one himself. He raced him up the stairs to the Capitoline Hill, to show him what he claimed was the best view of the Roman Forum. They looked at the remnants of the ancient empire for some time. Dick called it marvellous, to have all this history at their fingertips. Jason thought it humbling, to see the stage of some many triumphs and betrayals, romances and vendettas that had shaped the world centuries before either of them was a twinkle in anyone’s eye.</p><p>Shadows had already grown long when they found their way to the other side of the river and let themselves get lost in the narrow streets of Trastevere. Stone walls around them and cobbles underneath their feet still clung onto the memory of midday heat, as they walked through the maze of charming little alleyways – and it was so unbelievable that somewhere out Gotham with its Crime Alley existed. Here, his days living off breadcrumbs seemed but a bad dream, already chased away by Dick’s smile and his hand gently squeezing Jason’s.</p><p>After the whole afternoon listening to the melody of the language written into the buzz of the city, Jason felt confident with his <em>good afternoon</em>s and <em>thank you</em>s. Dick, however, suddenly remembered the Italian he had picked up as a child, travelling across Europe with the Haly’s Circus. Soon, he was asking locals for recommendations and sharing a chuckle with their waiter in a small restaurant – the kind you stumble upon once, never to find again. Sitting there, with his hands resting on the checkered tablecloth, his mouth curled in a carefree smile, Dick looked as if he had lived here forever, in one of those old houses just behind the corner. A regular who stopped for a cup of espresso on his way to work and the same plate of <em>risotto ai frutti di mare</em> for dinner, every single day.</p><p>He was like that wherever he went, Jason mused. Always jumping right in and making himself at home, and fitting in so seamlessly – only to pack his things one day and leave without regret. Jason used to admire that about him. But then, as his feelings deepened, he grew to fear it, because who was to say it wouldn’t be him left behind one day, no looking back?</p><p>Dick was, he thought and a timid smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Dick himself was to say, and he did say that, and there was a ring on his finger now, glittering just like his eyes did in the candlelight. Even as he joked with their waiter, his gaze kept straying back to Jason, as it did when he had shown him the landmarks of Rome. And as it did when they stood on the Capitoline Hill together, wonders of the ancient world laid at their feet.</p><p>It was a sunburn, not a blush – <em>sunburn, he said!</em> – heating up Jason’s face when he reached across the table to entwine their fingers and rub his thumb over his palm like he did when led through the streets of an unfamiliar city. And like he did when looking at the Roman Forum because nothing, not even countless centuries of history, could make him feel insignificant, if Dickie was right there, by his side.</p><p>They ate and sipped their red wine. They talked in hushed voices and Jason grinned, while Dick threw his head back, laughing out loud. And although Jason never wanted this evening to end, he also wished they were back in their hotel rooms already. He yearned to love Dick like he deserved to be loved – not with stolen kisses or rushed moments of intimacy before Red Hood was called to rein the Gotham underworld in or Nightwing was whisked away by the Titans to save the world yet again. No, Jason wanted to take his time. He wanted to have Dick blissed out in his arms as he poured his feelings into every caress until the night sky would pale with a hint of the dawn and Jason’s name would be the only prayer on his lips.</p><p>But the night was young and they still had tomorrow, and the day after too. Because for once the world wasn’t ending and surely, Gotham could spare them for that long.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Original prompt:<br/>"Domestic Au. A happily married JayDick who are enjoying a vacation after being separated because of work or just a family holiday thing. I just want to see them being fluffy and relaxed, that is all."<br/>Dear recipient of this treat, I hope you find this satisfactory 😊.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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